


What he Couldn't Say

by MaidenM



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Fluff and Smut, M/M, Reaper is not Gabriel, monster au, past Gabe/Jack, zinepiece
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-06
Updated: 2019-02-06
Packaged: 2019-10-23 10:53:09
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,499
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17682074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaidenM/pseuds/MaidenM
Summary: When he lost Gabriel, he felt lonely in so many ways. And he was certain he would never have anything Gabe gave him back. It took nothing less than a supernatural entity to make him believe again.





	What he Couldn't Say

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the r76 zine "The Monster in your Bed", a wonderful labor of love!

If there was one thing Jack had learned when it came to relationships, it was the importance of reassurance. The need for a steady confirmation that things were good, or were going to be good. He and Gabriel had been good at taking care of each other on that front. Sometimes through joking statements that took the edge out of a tense situation. Sometimes through reminders of various experiences that needed to be taken off the shelf and dusted once in a while.

 

Sometimes through touching.

 

Okay, often through touching.

 

Gabriel had called Jack a "skin-junkie", from the way Jack always wanted to be close, to be felt and to be touched. Nothing calmed him, emotionally or physically, like the touch of a lover. It was important to him to feel needed, but also to feel trusted. Few things said trust like fingertips grazing down the side of your neck or a hand laid over a naked thigh.

 

When he lost Gabriel, he felt lonely in so many ways. And he was certain he would never have anything Gabe gave him back. It took nothing less than a supernatural entity to make him believe again.

 

This caused a different problem though, one he didn't expect until he realized he had it. It was difficult to know how to be sensually, caringly, erotically intimate with a being that... didn't really seem to have a set shape.

 

Like right now, with Reaper lying on top of him and his fingertips gently stroking the smoky surface of his lover's unnatural body, Jack had no idea if Reaper felt or even realized what Jack was trying to communicate :- _I am here, I want to touch you, I want to be touched by you._

 

Try as he might, it was hard to imagine what Reaper might be feeling while in the shape of a blanket, draped over him as they rested.

 

Frowning, Jack lamented that this lazy summer afternoon wasn't quite what he was used to.

 

Still, it was very nice. The sky was clear and the wind danced through the trees creating a thousand hushed whispers that enveloped the two lovers as they lay in the old hammock they had managed to set up in the garden. Despite the summer heat Reaper was cool to the touch, like mist wafting from ice, making him the perfect cover. The soft breeze was just strong enough to set the hammock into a slow, calming sway making Jack's eyelids heavy and his mind lazy. He was naked underneath Reaper, no sense for modesty when they were the only sentient beings within miles, and the way Reaper's cool – for want of a better word – body slowly shifted across his skin was hypnotic.

 

Still frowning, Jack decided that it wasn't enough.

 

Experimentally he pushed his fingers down harder, less of a caress but not quite a grope. Reaper's blanket-body shifted unnaturally under his hand not giving him a good grip. Again he tried, pushing both hands across his lover, trying to push him closer than he was, silently urging him from intriguing to intimate.

 

Reaper shifted again, causing a delightful ripple to travel over Jack's body. Biting his lip, he allowed his thighs to spread invitingly and moved his hands even lower to once again urge Reaper to touch him, remind him that he was wanted, that he was here that he was-

 

Jack yelped as his fingers slipped through Reaper as if the eldritch being was made out of jelly.

 

The mist rose, towering over him like a curious beast. Soft cloudy edges became more defined, sharper and decidedly more solid as Reaper's familiar skull came into shape above Jack's naked form. The creature's smokey body still flowed from its head like a cape made out of fog.

 

"What are you getting up to?" Reaper purred, and Jack felt a ripple caress his covered body almost playfully.

 

Jack searched for his words. A big reason why touch was so easy and important to him was because talking wasn't always as simple. How do you tell someone how much you need them, to the point where you feel the urge to meld your body and mind with them?

 

What words could possibly be enough to convey the feeling of _"I want to be with you"_ to their full, honest extent?

 

As he looked for a way to speak, to say anything that was good enough, Jack shifted his fingers across his unnatural lover's amorphous body. The smoke shifted under his fingers, an near shy dance of almost-touching, coyly avoiding the voiceless communication.

 

Was Reaper doing it on purpose? Was he aware of Jack's attempt at intimacy and avoiding it? Was he teasing him, much like Gabe used to do, pulling away just for the sake of the chase?

 

Shadows fell over the old veteran's face as Reaper's antlers took shape, ornaments dangling like soundless wind-chimes in the breeze.

 

"What do you need from me, Jack?" Reaper asked with a tilt of his head. Shapes solidified above Jack, the form of a defined and fur-covered chest coming into focus above the dancing mist that teased his skin.

 

Jack grinned, letting his hands roam over the furry torso. The fact that Reaper was... well, furry rather than hairy had needed some getting used to, but once the abnormality became the norm as so much else had Jack found he very much liked the texture under his hands. He explored his lover lazily, mapping out the familiar yet ever-changing body above him. Abs, pectorals, clavicle...

 

"What I need is you, Reaper," he began, taking a firm but loving grip on Reaper's skull and pulling him down., "All of you, and everything you have to give."

 

Lazy kisses met bone as Jack pressed his lips to Reaper's head. A low, soft purr rumbling from the creature while Jack tried to show how much he needed him. Show him how much he wanted him, how much he loved him and hoped that he would stay with him. _Me,_ one kiss would say. _You,_ another continued.

 

_Together,_ their bodies said in unison as they surged towards each other.

 

Reaper's tongue slipped out from under his mask. It slowly moved across Jack's neck, savoring him and everything he was. Large hands took form, mapping out the body beneath them. Jack moaned, a sound containing so much more than he knew how to put into words, yet still nowhere near what he wanted to say to his beloved. Carefully, he was laid bare and exposed. Unable to hide himself or his thoughts as more of Reaper's form coalesced from the mist, a firm torso and wonderfully solid thighs pinning him to–

 

A loud crack snapped the moment as the hammock's ropes broke, leaving the two at the mercy of gravity. A shout escaped from Jack as the ground smacked against his back, followed by Reaper's arms doing their best to catch the huge beast before he crushed his partner.

 

For a few moments, the world stood still. The two exchanged wide-eyed looks as birdsong mixed with the wind, taking a moment to catch up with what happened. A snort broke the spell that came over them. Jack quickly covered his mouth as what could only be described as giggles threatened to bubble up.

 

"You okay?" Reaper huffed out, a tone of amusement coloring his voice.

 

Jack looked up, his dark lover a silhouette against the clear-blue sky. The golden chains and pendants glittered brightly in the sunlight. The beast's huge body was warm and naked, skin touching skin and fur where Reaper had ended up straddling Jack's thighs. The scent of grass and summer flowers carried by the wind enveloped them, and from the forest came birdsong muted by the distance.

 

Okay? No.

 

Jack reached up, carding his fingers through the fur on Reaper's arms and shoulders before gripping the monster's skull firmly. He maneuvered his legs out from under his beloved, pulling Reaper down to his face as he wrapped his legs around his waist. Smiling, and with a few breathy laughs, Jack kissed, gripped, held, and spoke with his body. His kisses whispering that he was more than okay, that he was better than he had been in a very, very long time.

 

Reaper, who had barely moved beyond Jack's manipulations, gave a low rumble, leaning into the affectionate touches ever so slightly. The long, sensual tongue came out again, answering the licks, nips and kisses in a manner no one else could. Clawed hands ghosted across skin, moving under him to cup his behind and lifted Jack's lower body off the ground at the same time as Reaper pushed his hips down, answering Jack's wordless communication.

 

_Don't worry. I am here_ , Jack felt instead of heard. _You are loved, wanted. Things are more than okay. We might not have forever, but what we have is now._

 

And late into that lazy afternoon, Jack and Reaper spoke silently until there was nothing left unsaid.


End file.
